By David
Szondy
July 17, 2022
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Feitan-1 lifting
off Photo credit: School of Aeronautics
and Astronautics of Northwestern Polytechnical University
VIEW 2 IMAGES
Even though it is one of the top three contenders in the
race to develop a practical hypersonic weapons system, getting solid data about
China's hypersonic program is frustratingly difficult. Like Russia, but more
so, China tends to keep its cards very close to its chest and what little
information is released comes through the country's state-controlled media, or
is couched in claims such as that a test was for an orbital spaceplane.
What is particularly interesting about the launch of
Feitian-1 is that it uses an RBCC engine to propel it to speeds in excess of
Mach 5. An RBCC engine is a combination of an air-breathing ramjet,
air-breathing scramjet, and ducted rocket. As the vehicle accelerates, the
engine transfers from one mode to the next, allowing it to cope with air
hitting the intake at greater and greater speed, and then becoming a pure rocket
at top speed and very high altitudes.
![The Feitan-1 hypersonic test vehicle]()
The Feitan-1 hypersonic test vehicle School of Aeronautics
and Astronautics of Northwestern Polytechnical University
Such an engine has a number of advantages, chief of which
is that it doesn't have to carry as much oxidizer as a pure rocket because it
can harvest oxygen from the air like a conventional jet engine. This allows it
to carry more fuel or a larger payload. In addition, the Feitian-1 can burn kerosene-based
aviation fuel.
According to the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at
Northwestern Polytechnical University, such an RBCC engine is the first in a
hypersonic flight vehicle. It says the July 2 ground-launched flight test made
a smooth transition from one mode to the next and carried out the expected
thermal throat adjustment and ultra-wide flight envelope
combustion.
Source: Northwestern
Polytechnical University